In both cases of \(V_\mathrm {same}(r)\)  and \(V_\mathrm {opp}(r)\) , most of the changes happen in proximity of the first dip in the potential, which is indeed the most relevant as it dominates the nearest-neighbors interaction.
It is not immediately obvious how to interpret the oscillations that follow the first dip, and it might be interesting to further investigate on this feature in the future.
In this context it is important to point out that these oscillations can also be observed in the effective-interaction description of an ionic-liquid in a polarizable solvent [1]}.
